The Looming Xenophobic Attack On Igbos In Lagos

By Chukwudi OHIRI

Nigerians (not excluding myself) and their leaders have this penchant for crying when the head is already off. Nipping impending catastrophes in the board doesn’t seem to be anywhere in our Dictionaries and that is why learning from history does not ring a bell in our ‘to do list’. If we ever had such a culture, perhaps we wouldn’t be spending the nation’s scarce human and financial resources executing the war on terrorism in the North Eastern Part of Nigeria today. From the embryonic stage, the Boko Haram menace would have been quietly and swiftly curbed without much ado.  

We were all witnesses to how an unguarded comment by the Zulu king in South Africa sparked off an inferno that is yet to be fully controlled. Many innocent lives were lost on both sides while properties worth millions of dollars were destroyed in the aftermath of the fracas that ensued. While that crisis was still raging, the Oba of Lagos issued a threat to Igbos living in Lagos on how they must exercise their electoral franchise or face extinction. Months after, no commission of enquiry or any form of investigation panel was at least set up in our characteristic manner (even if nothing comes out of it in the end as usual) to ascertain the veracity of the allegation. No reprimands from both the federal or State government was heard or publicised till date. Instead, defence and counter-defence has been the main preoccupation of so many well-meaning individuals and groups from both ends.

Last week, a group of Yoruba youths under the aegis of Oodua Nationalist Coalition, (ONAC) and the Pan-Yoruba National Alliance, (PAYNA ) took to the streets of Lagos, in protest against Igbo-Speaking residents whom they allege, are propagating a notion of Lagos as ‘No man’s land’. They openly threatened that such campaigns will be fervently resisted. “This is a symbolic rally to warn against the assault on Yoruba heritage. We are sick of people (who) trample on our heritage even though they make their millions on our territory” one of the leaders of the group, Mr Araoye Akinwunmi reportedly told the crowd which allegedly gathered at the entrance of Emzor pharmaceutical company located on Aswani Road, Isolo area of Lagos.

Armed with flyers and placards with different inscriptions such as ‘Igbo people, respect our Oba, our culture or we kick you out’; ‘Lagos (Eko) is not no man’s land’; Yoruba own Lagos, create ya own Lagos in Igboland, No dispute; Igbo, stop attack on Yoruba culture’ etc., the angry protesters distributed their flyers to passers-by with a warning thus: Yoruba “will no longer accept the conscious attempt to turn us into slaves on our own land.”

It was gathered that the protest lasted for several hours without interruption as the irate crowd prevented workers and clients of the Emzor Pharmaceutical Company from gaining entrance into the vast premises. (For clarity, Emzor Pharmaceutical Company is a company owned by an Igbo business mogul in Lagos). The protesters reportedly claimed that the protest was a retaliatory protest taken in part, to protest the attempt to distort the history of Lagos and also as “a mark of proportional response to an alleged siege laid by Igbos on the business outfit of one Dr Ariyo Adeniran, a renowned cardiologist whose outfit was allegedly being picketed by Igbos in Dallas, Texas in the United States”.

Evil they say, thrives when good people stand aloof and do nothing about it. When impunity lasts long, it becomes a tradition. Perhaps, because the Oba of Lagos issued his threat which nearly ignited a physical xenophobic war and till date, no modicum of admonition came to him, these youths also began their open hate campaign without condemnation. This is how, little by little violence is brewed and nurtured.

The government at both the federal and state level, well-meaning Yorubas and Igbos leaders must rise up to condemn the unnecessary show of shame in a country where we claim to be one people. If the Dallas allegations are confirmed to be true, the Igbos in the Diaspora and at home must stand up to say an emphatic ‘NO’ to xenophobia in any form.

The truth is that if the embers of hatred are fanned aflame, there will be casualties from both parties. Who knows how it will affect him or her, directly or indirectly. That is why this smouldering fire of xenophobia must be nipped in the bud before more groups regroup to turn the push into shove. When two Brothers fight, Strangers always reap the harvest'. He who decides to play with the dogs should not keep his thread and needle far away. Xenophobia is looming and there seems to be no conscious attempt to forestall it. Already, the social media war on the subject matter is raging and if not abated, they might creep out to full blown catastrophe.

 

PDP: How Not To Play The Opposition Politics

By  Chukwudi Ohiri

The importance of opposition party in any democracy cannot be overemphasized. In fact, any democracy without a formidable opposition is akin to a dictatorship and usually non-performing. This was almost the plight in Nigeria from 1999 when the Fourth Republic began until about a year to the end of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan's administration when the All Progressives Congress, APC emerged to keep the Peoples Democratic party, PDP on its toes.

Before then, the PDP had boasted that it was going to rule Nigeria for sixty (not sixteen) uninterrupted years apparently because of the near absence of any formidable opposition. The PDP had a field day running the affairs of Nigeria for the greater part of its sixteen years in power. It led to so much complacency, insensitivity to the plight of the generality of the populace, lack of transparency and exaltation of mediocrity. The high level of misrule by the administrations before that of Dr. Jonathan dwarfed every little effort made by the immediate past administration to better the lot of the generality of Nigerians and put the PDP on the good side of history. Alas, the verdict of the people expressed via the last general election was that PDP, without isolating any of the administrations, has failed the people for 16 years. It was therefore no surprise that the 'change' mantra of the APC, albeit laced with so many utopian propositions, caught the fancy and admiration of many Nigerians. The rest is now history as the APC is now the ruling party while the PDP, willy nilly, has become the main opposition party.

Like a nightmare come through, the mirage of having to play opposition politics has dawned on the PDP ipso facto. Unfortunately, infighting and overstretched blame game has not allowed it to settle down for business o f opposition.

At the moment, Jonathanians and PDP apologists have been ranting on social media and other public fora for a reciprocal measure for the APC led government which adopted as its tactics, a policy of 'see-no-good-PDP' and 'attack any and everything from PDP'. The trending slogan from PDP sympathizers is--'it's payback time for the APC'. The home truth is that should the PDP toe this prescribed line, it would be suicidal and do its reputation and hope to bounce back by 2019 no good. The PDP will be making itself a laughing stock if it chooses to play a politics of 'payback time'.

PDP ought to learn from the outcome of its last campaign strategy anchored on mudslinging, name calling and hate campaigns which literarily boomeranged. Nigerians expected to get a scorecard of the administration's five years stewardship and a roadmap to taking Nigeria to the next level. Conversely, the PDP, banking on the euphoria of being the incumbent failed to showcase its performance to the electorate until the extended six-week period before the elections. By then, it was too late and too short a time to sway and persuade the electorate whose minds was already made up for the smoldering 'change' mantra.

If the PDP must succeed as an opposition party in the Nigerian politics, it must not be hasty in jumping into the social media frenzy of 'payback time politics'. They must leave social media to play the dirty opposition politics of reciprocity and face more serious national discourse. In fact, PDP should embrace what I have christened, 'partnership opposition' whereby it would play the role of proffering alternative strategies to the ruling party rather than criticizing trifles. This was conspicuously and understandably missing under the APC led opposition politics. Such matters as Mrs. Aisha Buhari's wristwatch, First Class ticket of President Buhari, call for immediate visit to Borno, public declaration of assets by the president, Buhari's N2b mansion in Asokoro, Buhari's accent, Buhari's grammar, Buhari's mistake of calling Germany West germany and the ilk should not form the PDP's immediate preoccupation. Instead, it should have a compendium of all campaign promises of the APC juxtaposed with only the realistic expectations of the masses and make it a sing song. It must stand as a watchdog raising alarm if and when some of its hard-earned legacies anre being tampered with. Yes, criticize it must, but let it not hinge on trivialities. Rewriting the APC's script at the National Assembly the other day was a welcome development and a very good way to start provided it was done for national interest and not personal ego or retaliation of the Tambuwal episode of the 7th Assembly.

Clearly, most of APC's campaign promises by its own recent admittances are not only unrealistic, but mere fantasies trumped up to win the hearts of disillusioned and disenchanted Nigerians. Here, the PDP must partner with the APC to put these promises in proper and realistic perspectives in order to win the trust of Nigerians as being honest, factual and deserving of another chance. Doing otherwise might lead to questioning of its moral credentials to demand of the APC, what it could not deliver in sixteen years. This, it must avoid as the APC will be ready to pull this string when the chips are down.

There is the need for unity in the house of the PDP if it must succeed as an opposition party. Bickering and blame game must give way for strategic innovations and crafting of alternative policies for good governance.

Indeed, Nigerians will miss the vibrancy and the fire power of the APC which finally dislodged the PDP. Can the new opposition party repeat and possibly surpass the record of the APC in playing the opposition politics? Opportunities for this feat abound as the APC apparently bit more than they can chew on its way to power. It is left to the PDP to now think outside the box in order to harness this golden chance to make a bold statement in the interest of our dear bleeding nation. Let the opposition game begin now. No to 'payback time politics'. Objectivity should now be the mantra.

Arise, O Compatriots (2)

By Chukwudi Ohiri

07052415807

The events of the South African xenophobic attacks and the threat by the Oba of Lagos, though already doused ought to remain a wakeup call for all Nigerians everywhere. There is the urgent need to reflect on why Nigeria as a country is sardonically referred to as a giant with clay feet to the extent that those we were hitherto ahead of in the race to nationhood are now the ones urging us to wake up. The incoming administration of General Muhammadu Buhari must as a matter of urgency, do whatever it can to reposition the country to a respectable position among the comity of nations before we sink into the abyss of obscurity. 

Narrowing down this discourse to the purported ‘ingenuity’ and ‘sagacity’ of the South Easterners (Ndigbo), one begins to wonder what has happened to the people once idolized by the world for their bravery and tenacity during the Nigeria/Biafra civil war years. The people were once compared to the Jews, who up till today hold the ace in industry, economy, commerce and to an appreciable extent, the politics of the United States to the point that America cannot do without them. Could it be said that the Igbo people are now dwelling in past glory? It can’t be far from the truth otherwise, how come the tribe has so depreciated in valuegeometrically within the last few decades such that they have become unwanted elements at home and in the diaspora.

Recall the great speech of the Late Biafran leader and warlord while addressing the world in a press conference and I quote: “In the three years of the war, necessity gave birth to invention. During those three years of heroic bound, we leapt across the great chasm that separates knowledge from know-how. We built rockets, and we designed and built our own delivery systems. We guided our rockets. We guided them far, we guided them accurately. For three years, blockaded without hope of import, we maintained all our vehicles. The state extracted and refined petrol.Individuals refined petrol in their back gardens. We built and maintained our airports, maintained them under heavy bombardment. Despite the heavy bombardment, we recovered so quickly after each raid that we were able to maintain the record for the busiest airport in the continent of Africa. We spoke to the world through telecommunication system engineered by local ingenuity; the world heard us and spoke back to us! We built armoured car tanks. We modified aircraft from trainer to fighters, from passenger aircraft to bombers. In the three years of freedom, we had broken the technological barrier. In three years we became the most civilised, the most technologically advanced black people on earth.” Could this ascription made of Ndigbo be a mere propaganda?

If Ndigbo achieved this much in three years under very excruciating hardship and circumstances, why can’t the feat be re-enacted now that there is relative freedom, wider opportunities and to a large extent, an almost assured international support which was obviously lacking during the war years? Now, more than ever, the Ndigbo need to reappraise its position in the affairs of Nigeria. We must go back to history in order to dig up those things that made the Igboman outstanding when others were merely standing in order to re-invent them. There is need for Ndigbo to do a soul search in history to also discover where the nightfall began to eclipse its ingenuity, doggedness, foresightedness and above all, the spirit of oneness which  has be the most conspicuously identified bane of the Igboman in recent history. This self and holistic appraisal is very pertinent in order to launch ourselves back to reckoning again in Nigeria and in the entire black world?

The starting point for this self-reappraisal and self-rediscovery will be tocommence a search and identification genuine, committed and selfless leaderswho will steer the ship of re-launching the Ndigbo into the mainstream of affairs in the Nigerian political space, at least, for the time being. It has dawned on every discerning mind that the big vacuum created by the demise of the late sage, Chukwuememka Odimegwu Ojukwu has not been filled till date. It will be a mockery of our collective sensibilities to contemplate or admit that we don’t have bona fide Igbo sons and daughters in the ‘spirit and likeness’ of Ojukwu. This is far from the truth, just that the mechanics have so confused us that we can no longer differentiate between them and the mad men. However, if we look deeply, ‘testing all spirits’ (as the Holy Books say), we will find them. They abound because God Himself has richly endowed the Igbo race with all shades of characters that will lead us to our promised land.

Talking about leadership, this discourse will lack merit if it fails to appraise and address the quality of political leadership that has been bequeathed to the South East geopolitical zone since the inception of the new democratic dispensation since 1999. It appears that in rating, vis-à-vis other geopolitical zones who are supposedly our rivals, we have not fared better. From Anambra to Imo, Enugu Ebonyi and Abia, there seem to be a general consensus that the development indicators have almost perpetually tilted towards the negative territory. As mentioned in the part one of the series, apart from a few intermittent flashes of good governance in one, or maybe two States, the rest have been adjudged poor and reproachful. The South West and South South have a number of States adjudged as making some progress whereas the South East lags distantly behind. This is appallingly unacceptable and smacks of a complete dearth of the leadership we all seek.

In looking at the soon-to-expire dispensation in the South East, one discovers with utter bewilderment, the irony of appraisals. It is quite surprising that while the outgoing governor of Abia State, Chief Theodore Orji has garnered quite a number of available laurels for good governance in Nigeria and even in Ghana(in spite of the hue and cry bellowing from his State to the contrary of his performance), the governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has barely gotten any (whereas the thinking, especially outside the zone is that he has been outstanding in performance). Ironically again, both of them won the recently concluded elections to the various positions they sought after. The confusion as to the real performance of these two case studies still lingers.

One fact remains sacrosanct. Most regional leaders emerge from the sub-platforms based on the credentials they are able to create for themselves at the lower levels. Among the governors that have governed any of the five South East States since 1999, can we boast of any as a true leader based on credentials? The answer to this will surely be a subjective one and so we leave it to posterity for judgement.

We must all arise, O compatriots for this onerous task of re-inventing our various states, region and the nation at large. Ndigbo needs to re-enact the feat of the civil war years in a more positive way. That ingenuity, that dexterity, that bond of unity, that resoluteness and that creative and innovative mind-set which now rules the world needs to be re-awakened for the general good of all. 

If Ndigbo cannot, for time being attain the status of Nigeria’s President (which is not even a laudable achievement in itself as history has shown), they ought to at least have the equivalents of Dangote, the Alakijas, the Dantatas, the Otedolas, the Adenugasetcetera in areas of setting up businesses that can outlive the owners. As I mentioned in part1, Igbo business model must change to something more durable and futuristic in line with emerging global realities and changing technologies, else, we are heading to outright oblivion.